The case studies show that the potential for corruption in water licensing is an important issue. Such studies can also help to better take local conditions into account in water policies and regulatory systems. Often such policies are developed with help of international organizations, building on experience in countries with better control mechanisms. Many local realities, however, imply dated infrastructures with low levels of monitoring and control mechanisms and a lack of data to ensure equitable resource distribution and proper law enforcement. Whereas legal reform is ongoing, a lot of water use and pollution still remains un-licensed and unregulated. This particularly relates to smaller users and to groundwater and wastewater pollution licensing. In view of the large number of users and the limited administrative capacities, creative solutions need to be found for proper allocation and control mechanisms without increasing bureaucracy and potential corruption. Extending effective informal systems may be more effective in some cases than building parallel formal systems for example.

Published: 2009